The fate of Roe v. Wade puts both Liberals and Conservatives on the spot
CBC
In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen said the "only ones reopening" the abortion debate "are the Liberals."
Unfortunately for Bergen, Arnold Viersen, a Conservative MP who describes himself as "pro-life," had stopped to speak to reporters outside West Block two hours earlier. He was asked whether this was a debate that needed to be reopened. "I would generally say that the debate's never been closed," he replied.
Bergen and some of her fellow Conservatives might wish to see the discussion closed — and she's surely not wrong to suggest the Liberals are happy to bring it up. But Viersen's view is closer to the truth of the current situation, though many would disagree with his reasons for saying so.
Because even if no major federal party is officially in favour of criminalizing abortion, the practical and political realities of abortion in Canada are more complicated than a simple question of whether the debate needs to be "reopened."
And if the United States Supreme Court is about to overturn the precedent of Roe v. Wade, there will be new pressure on both the Conservatives and the Liberal government to reckon with their own positions.
Officially, the Conservative Party's position is that "a Conservative Government will not support any legislation to regulate abortion." That statement can be found in the party's official policy declaration. Statements issued Tuesday by Conservative leadership candidates Jean Charest and Pierre Poilievre echoed that wording.
Even with a Conservative majority in the House of Commons, that position would make it exceedingly difficult for a bill restricting abortion to pass Parliament. Without the votes of Conservative cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries (and assuming all Liberal, NDP, Bloc Quebecois and Green MPs remain opposed), such a bill would be very unlikely to find enough support.
The Conservatives no doubt hope to reassure pro-choice voters. But Conservative backbenchers remain free to "reopen" the debate with private members' bills and motions related to abortion.
Last year, for instance, Conservative MP Cathay Wagantall brought forward a bill on sex-selective abortion. When it came to a vote last June, 81 Conservative MPs (and one former Conservative MP) voted in favour.
Leaning on appeals to democratic principle, Conservatives might insist — as Charest did in his statement on Tuesday — that MPs should be free to table such bills. But they can't then reasonably claim that it's only Liberals who insist on talking about abortion.
At the same time, the abortion "debate" in Canada goes beyond the question of whether backbench MPs should have the freedom to pursue such initiatives.
While a Conservative government wouldn't directly limit abortion, the Conservative policy declaration says the party "supports conscience rights for doctors, nurses and others to refuse to participate in, or refer their patients for abortion, assisted suicide, or euthanasia."
Under former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole, similar language appeared in the party's election platform. Pressed by reporters during the election campaign, O'Toole backtracked by saying that medical professionals opting out of such procedures would still be expected to provide referrals to their patients.
It's also official Conservative policy that "abortion should be explicitly excluded from Canada's maternal and child health program in countries where Canadian aid is delivered" — a position that Stephen Harper's government put into practice in 2014.